Teenager killed in Hwy 2 accident

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

Dec. 3, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

An early morning frost contributed to three vehicle rollovers Thursday near Bemidji, resulting in one death and some serious injuries, according to the State Patrol in Thief River Falls.

All three crashes took place within 30 minutes of each other, the first occurring about 7:30 a.m. on U.S. Highway 2. The other two took place close to 8 a.m. -- another on Highway 2 and one on U.S. Highway 71.

Jeremy Charles Ihrke, 19, of Lengby was killed about 7:30 a.m. when he was ejected from his truck and hit by another vehicle.

According to the State Patrol, Ihrke was eastbound on Highway 2 about one mile west of Wilton when he lost control of his 1973 Chevrolet pickup because of frost.

The truck shot into the median, rolled and landed in the oncoming traffic of the westbound lanes of Highway 2. Ihrke was ejected from the pickup, landing in traffic and was struck by a 1999 Dodge pickup driven by Amy Neff, 31, of Clearbrook.

Ihrke was dead when authorities arrived at the scene. It was unknown Thursday if he was wearing a seatbelt when he lost control of the vehicle.

Neff was not injured.

Joe Edwards, and his son Nickolas, were injured about 20 minutes later when the pickup in which they were riding also flipped on Highway 2.

Joe Edwards, 41, of Bagley was driving his 1989 Ford pickup eastbound on Highway 2 just east of Beltrami County Road 507, the road leading to the Northwoods Panelboard Company, when he lost control on a patch of frost.

The pickup slipped and rolled into the southern ditch along the highway.

Both were taken to North Country Regional Hospital in Bemidji, where Joe Edwards was treated and released. Nickolas, 18, was admitted with unreported injuries.

Jeffery Petersen, 39, of Bemidji was injured in the third rollover minutes later on U.S. Highway 71 North.

Petersen was southbound on Highway 71 near the intersection of Fern Street Northwest when he lost control of his 1997 Toyota pickup on a patch of frost.

The pickup jerked into the median and rolled, ejecting Petersen from the vehicle.

He was taken to North Country Regional Hospital, where he was treated in the emergency room. Later he was air lifted to MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, N.D., where he was admitted into the intensive care unit, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

His pickup was totaled.